The Memphis Grizzlies were one of the most impressive and surprising teams in the NBA last season after the squad made a run to the western conference finals and now they will get the chance to play one of their likely challengers, as the Houston Rockets visit FedEx Forum for the final NBA preseason game at 8:00 PM and the game will be streaming online on NBA.com.
The Grizzlies bring back the core of their team in Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol and the team is facing off against one of the most talented in the league, as the Rockets have James Harden, Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons and of course Dwight Howard, who shook up the conference by leaving the Lakers last offseason. Howard has high expectations this season and so do the rockets and that is the same for the Grizzlies, who are looking to join the elite teams in the conference after making the run against the Spurs in the west finals. The Rockets have pulled off the biggest moves of the summer two years in a row, as they traded for James Harden last year and then signed Dwight Howard this summer and now that the preseason is coming to a close, the regular season anticipation is mounting and plenty of pressure will be on Howard's shoulders.
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The West is expected to be tougher than the east this season, as the conference is stacked with teams that can win championships, but also ones that have the potential to make the playoffs even if they don't go all the way. The Rockets obviously are a team that will be improved after finishing eighth last season, while the Grizzlies will not be able to surprise anyone after making the run they had. The LA Clippers are likely going to be one of the top teams after bringing back Chris Paul and getting Doc Rivers and with Blake Griffin already there, the team has plenty of talent. The Warriors could end up being one of the surprising teams in the league after getting Andre Iguodala and they already have a budding star in Stephen Curry.
The west has teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who has Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to torment opponents and this season teams like the Lakers, Blazers, Pelicans and the Mavericks are all expecting to challenge for playoff spots. The Rockets won 45 games last season and snuck in as the eighth seed and after putting up a good fight against the Thunder, many feel that they will win more games this season and should have a top seed in the playoffs. The Rockets went 5-1 this preseason and the Grizzlies went 4-3 and the team is coming off of a win over the San Antonio Spurs and they will open the season at home against the Charlotte Bobcats.
The Rockets come into the season as one of the best scoring teams in the league, ranking in the top five last season and while they were ranked in the bottom part of the league in defense, the team should be much improved in that area with Omer Asik and a defensive player of the year in Howard coming into the fold. The team expects to use both players at the same time and after averaging double-doubles last year, they should have the strongest front court in the west and should rank in the top 10 in rebounding.